{"id":52493,"date":"2018-06-09T06:21:51","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T12:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=52493"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:10:27","slug":"gray-catbird-plus-blooming-hounds-tongue-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/09\/gray-catbird-plus-blooming-hounds-tongue-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Catbird Plus Blooming Hound’s Tongue Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GrayGray Catbird on a log –\u00a0 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday morning was spent up in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> and for a while I escaped the heat of the valley, it was pleasant, cool and I had plenty of subject to photograph including birds, flora and wildlife.<\/p>\n

I have found Gray Catbirds to be quite skulky so having one out in the open yesterday was truly a delight, at least for a few moments. I heard the Gray Catbird before I saw it and when I did it was nearly hidden in some dead bushes but when it flew down to a fallen log out in the open I started taking photos of the bird as it looked around. I liked the vibrant green leaves in the background which contrasted nicely with the bird’s gray plumage and the well-weathered log.<\/p>\n

\"GrayGray Catbird with a messy background –\u00a0 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But then the catbird moved up the log and the background became messy with bright branches crossing through the frame that I feel are light enough that they draw my attention away from the bird, my primary subject. The bird is posed nicely, I have light in the eye, wonderful sharpness and feather details but I know that those bright branches aren’t a feature I like in this photo at all and this image won’t make it to my galleries because of them.<\/p>\n

It is quite possible that moving to a different position may have eliminated having the distracting branches in the background, next time I am up there I will have to evaluate this location more carefully.<\/p>\n

\"GrayGray Catbird perched on a twig –\u00a0 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Later the catbird flew up into the dead branches of a shrub and perched on a twig in great light and gave me a wonderful turn of the head but there were dead, out of focus twigs in front of the bird that are also a bit distracting to my eye. I sure wish those twigs had not been there.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you get the photos of birds that you want and sometimes you don’t. Bird photography isn’t easy, yesterday wasn’t easy at least for taking photos of this catbird.<\/p>\n

\"BloomingBlooming Hound’s Tongue – Cynoglossum officinale –\u00a0 <\/em>Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I did take some photos of the wildflowers I saw in the same area where I photographed the Gray Catbird when it wasn’t in view though and I do like these blooming Hound’s Tongue photos a lot.<\/p>\n

Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum officinale<\/em>) is an introduced herbaceous plant that is part of the Borage (Boraginaceae<\/em>) family, it is originally from Europe and it is considered a noxious weed in many locations in the United States.<\/p>\n

The name Hound’s Tongue is said to come from the roughness of the leaves. I guess someone a long time ago thought they felt like a dog’s tongue?<\/p>\n

\"Hound'sHound’s Tongue – Introduced Wildflower –\u00a0 <\/em>Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Other names for this wildflower include Houndstongue, Hounds-tongue, Dog\u2019s Tongue, Gypsy Flower, Gypsyflower, Beggars-lice, Dogbur, and Woolmat.<\/p>\n

\"CynoglossumCynoglossum officinale<\/em> – Hound’s Tongue –\u00a0 <\/em>Nikon D500, f10, 1\/400, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though it is introduced and invasive I think the plant and the flowers are quite lovely especially since the blossoms change color as they age from bluish violet, to lighter violet tinged with red to a brownish red.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed my time yesterday morning photographing the Gray Catbird and the Hound’s Tongue in bloom but I really wish I had been as happy with my catbird photos as I am the wildflower images.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Gray Catbird photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my flower, trees, shrubs and plant images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I enjoyed my time yesterday morning photographing the Gray Catbird and the Hound’s Tongue in bloom but I really wish I had been as happy with my catbird photos as I am the wildflower images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3605,1731,26,5347],"tags":[6551,6557,6555,6559,6558,6554,6548,6552,3607,3606,6549,6550,6547,6546,686,4962,6469,821,6556,4104,6046,3896,4307,6553],"class_list":["post-52493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-gray-catbirds","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wildflowers","tag-beggars-lice","tag-blooms","tag-boraginaceae","tag-catbird","tag-catbirds","tag-cynoglossum-officinale","tag-dogs-tongue","tag-dogbur","tag-dumetella-carolinensis","tag-gray-catbird","tag-gypsy-flower","tag-gypsyflower","tag-hounds-tongue","tag-houndstongue","tag-introduced","tag-log","tag-messy-background","tag-mimids-2","tag-multi-colored","tag-perched","tag-twig","tag-wildflower","tag-wildflowers","tag-woolmat"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/gray-catbird-creek-side-mia-mcpherson-7418.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dEF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104614,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/30\/fledgling-gray-catbird-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":52493,"position":0},"title":"Fledgling 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I was extremely pleased to find and photograph my first Gray Catbird juvenile of this breeding season yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as it came into view on a hawthorn tree.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Gray Catbird up close, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gray-catbird-juvenile-up-close-mia-mcpherson-0023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gray-catbird-juvenile-up-close-mia-mcpherson-0023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/gray-catbird-juvenile-up-close-mia-mcpherson-0023.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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